Small Business Toolbox

A library of business management info


Home-Based Business

  • Ten Businesses for the Artistic Soul
    10/26/2006
    Often, artistic individuals have not received business training and lack the fundamental business skills required to make a commercial success of their activities. Many writers, artists, musicians and photographers struggle to make a living, even though highly talented. The following list outlines 10 businesses that can allow artistic souls to achieve financial stability while still practicing their art.
  • Curtain Call: Winner of the 2006 Dell/NFIB Small-Business Excellence in Customer Experience Award
    07/25/2006

    Sewing is a lot more than a needle pulling thread at Megan Duckett's Sew What Inc. Technology plays a starring role at this Los Angeles-based small business that specializes in theatrical drapery and custom sewing jobs for the theater, cinema and special events industries.

  • Starting a Summer Business
    06/28/2006
    Instead of going to work for someone else next summer, learn how to strike out on your own. If any of the following criteria applies to you, you might want to consider putting the books away for the summer and becoming a business owner.
  • Starting a Home-Based Business
    04/14/2006
    Starting a business from home is a great way to go for a couple of reasons: It's less expensive, and it's fun.
  • Becoming a Part-Time Entrepreneur
    03/29/2006
    I want to start a business but I don’t have the money to do so. The thought of quitting my job to become an entrepreneur also scares me a bit. What should I do?
  • Growing Your Business While Continuing to Work From Home
    06/20/2005
    I would like to grow my home-based business, but it seems like I am constrained by the fact that my business is in fact run from home. What strategies might I employ if I want to continue to grow and to work from home?
  • Starting Small, Looking Big
    11/02/2004
    I would like to start a business from home, but I am concerned. I will have inventory, need to meet customers and want to look “big.” Can I do that with a home-based business? Maybe I need an outside business. What do you think?
  • Turning a Hobby Into a Business
    03/08/2004
    Do you have a hobby about which you are passionate? If so, you should consider turning it into a part-time or full-time business.
  • The Changing Attitudes Toward Home-Based Businesses
    10/16/2002
    Home-based businesses were once the Rodney Dangerfield of employment. No matter how hard you worked, you got no respect.
  • The Work-at-home Sourcebook: A Book Review
    04/01/2002
    "The Work-at-Home Sourcebook" (by Lynie Arden, Live Oak Publications, Boulder, Colorado, 1996) has one of the most complete listings of franchises and at-home jobs I've seen.
  • Running a Business From Home: Part II
    04/01/2002
    Numerous concerns arise when married couples run separate businesses from the home.
  • Running a Business From Home: Part I
    04/01/2002
    Many couples these days run not one but two separate businesses from the home.
  • Working With Your Client to Structure an Extended Home-based Project
    04/01/2002
    You've been involved in projects for different clients to create a fairly steady flow of business, then comes the opportunity to take on one large project that goes on for an extended period.
  • Weekend Warriors:Tips for Running a Successful Weekend Business Part II
    04/01/2002
    Today's Workshop, continues the discussion of juggling time to maximize the chance for success of your second business.
  • Learn About Zoning Requirements for Your Home-based Business
    03/28/2002
    If you find that your zoning doesn't allow businesses similar to yours in residential areas, you can take steps to change the zoning in your favor, as described in today's Workshop.
  • Weekend Warriors: Tips for Running a Successful Weekend Business Part I
    03/28/2002
    f you're employed full-time during the week, and are starting or are already running a weekend business, you have special operational needs and time constraints.
  • Avoid Isolation
    03/25/2002
    Whether you work from home or in a one-person office, you may occasionally miss those coffee room chats and just-between-colleagues schmooze sessions.